


Burning

by BoltedBee



Category: Transformers: Prime
Genre: Bickering, Denial, F/M, Femdom, Hate Sex, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Sticky Sexual Interfacing, Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms, Unhealthy Relationships, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-01
Updated: 2018-09-27
Packaged: 2019-05-31 15:19:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15122243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BoltedBee/pseuds/BoltedBee
Summary: Interfacing can be a healthy way to cope with stress. It doesn't really matter who it's with as long as it stays strictly casual.





	1. Chapter 1

Almost daily, Arcee would frequently question her somewhat recent life choices despite her active participation in them. There was really no arguing with herself about it and it wasn't exactly something she could openly discuss with her comrades. Save for Ratchet or Ultra Magnus, the Autobots were not a judgmental lot, but for something as taboo as her chosen indulgence, they would all look at her in disgust. Arcee sighed as she instead tried to focus on her mission.

“You okay, Arcee?” Jack asked.

“Oh. Yeah, sorry,” Arcee said, holding a servo to her forehead. She hadn't even realized he'd been talking. “Just got a lot on my mind.”

“You've been acting different for awhile. You sure that's all it is?”

Arcee stopped at the bridge controls. Had she really been that obvious? “Cliff's been on my mind a lot recently. Nothing you need to worry yourself about,” she said with a sad smile. She typed in the coordinates of her destination in a hurry, and threw the switch for the ground-bridge to appear. Thankfully it was getting late and some of the others had retired for the evening, making the base peaceful.

“Oh, sorry. Didn't mean to bug.”

“It's fine. I promise. I'll see you when I get back.”

“I'll be here. And hey, bring me back a souvenir!”

“I'll see what I can find,” Arcee said with a chuckle. With that, she transformed and sped out of the ground-bridge.

In no time at all, her tires hit the dirt and grass and moments after, transformed back to her root mode, taking a moment to admire the scenery. The bridge closed after her in seconds. She didn't allow herself too much time, however; she was late as it is. Delaying the inevitable could at times be gratifying. Arcee took her scanner from her subspace to do a quick scan of the area. There were a few sparse caches of energon shallowly buried in the mountain.

How convenient.

Arcee entered the low-clearance mouth of a cave carved out in the side. Only a few meters in, she noticed the ceiling get farther away. As soon as she was able to stand upright again, she scanned the wall to her left, finding a good-sized chunk of energon buried there. Intent to go about her business and retrieve said energon, Arcee sub-spaced the scanner and drew her blades, but was stopped by a snide, accusing voice.

“You're late.”

Arcee rolled her optics as an impossibly rude seeker stood out from behind a rock formation further down in the cave. Her optics ghosted to the side, seeing Starscream just as prim and arrogant as he always was. She both loved and hated him for it. “Sorry to disappoint, but you're not the only one in my life,” Arcee said, narrowing her optics forward and punching a few, straight holes in the rock-face. It gave way to her much easier than expected.

“Yes, surely a few, homely Autobots are in competition with _me_ ,” Starscream said, striding up to her confidently.

“You'd be surprised,” she replied, finally unearthing a few shards of raw energon. When she heard a snarl and a flash of claws and she was ready to defend herself in an instant.

With her right blade, she blocked Starscream's servo, which quickly grabbed onto it and used the leverage to throw the small femme to the side. Her pedes barely left the ground, and she used the momentum to center herself and dash forward, ramming into Starscream's side. He yelped at the sudden tackle but as he was knocked to the ground, his arm found purchase just under her head, dragging her just under his frame and locking her there. Arcee weakly attempted to push him off.

“Is this all you have to offer me today?” Starscream taunted, pressing more of his weight on top of her.

“Some of us have people we'd like to get back to,” Arcee said through gritted dentae, glaring up at the haughty Decepticon.

“You think _I'm_ not busy?” Starscream leaned down, whispering in the femme's audial, “I have legions of drones I could be ordering to do my bidding right now, yet I choose to spend my valuable time with you.”

“And...?”

“And you should learn to be more grateful,” he growled, suddenly releasing her from the overly firm headlock he had her in. As she sputtered for air, he maneuvered behind her, pressing one servo down on her back, the other pulled her hips up to meet his own. Before he could make the demand, her valve panel opened. Starscream purred as his spike pressurized from its sheath and hastily buried it in Arcee.

“Ngh!” she bit out, “Not so h-hard!”

Starscream only moaned, “You're wet, you'll be fine.”

Arcee grit her dentae, forcing herself to relax as the haughty seeker had his way with her. After all, it was his “turn”. As expected, her valve quickly yielded to him, generous amounts of lubricant flowing to aid both their pleasure. Arcee sighed when Starscream found his rhythm, gripping her hips with both servos, now fragging her as he liked. Instead of inflating his ego further, Arcee withdrew into herself, constantly telling herself this would be “the last time”. But even the one time turned into two, then three...

She decided it was probably best to stop counting. Besides, it was probably rude to purposely space out when Starscream was doing his best to get her off. More likely to fuel his own ego rather than pleasure his partner, Arcee was sure. But it didn't bother her, so long as she got what she wanted in the end.

“Are you in so much bliss you can't even properly vocalize?” Starscream asked, as usual in the most snide way possible.

“I would be if you could actually make me overload,” Arcee shot back.

As usual, Starscream snarled and fragged her harder, all the more trying to make her overload.

“Can't have both our illustrious leaders getting suspicious, can we?” Starscream asked, angling his spike just so that it caused Arcee to suddenly arch her back.

“Which is why-” Arcee bit out, “you should change up your technique-!” Her voice suddenly pitched up when Starscream's spike hit the apex of her valve.

“What was that? I couldn't hear you over the delicious sounds of your pleasure,” Starscream purred, deliberately hitting that same spot.

“Shut up for once and f-” Arcee's words died in her throat as her overload finally took her, stealing away whatever snarky remarks she had left. Through her haze, she felt Starscream give a few more thrusts before he stopped, locking himself inside her until his own overload subsided.

Starscream gave himself a spare moment to rest his helm between Arcee's winglets, but she was naturally quick to react.

“I thought we agreed not to do that,” Arcee said breathlessly. She did not move away.

“Had we? Must have slipped my mind.”

“Your mind has been convenient of late,” she mentioned, “Don't think I won't return the favor.”

“You're welcome to try.”

As with so many of their sessions, it was ended with threats and promises alike. They didn't exactly cuddle, but just a quick bask in the afterglow was no longer discouraged. This time though, Starscream suddenly bit into the exposed cabling of Arcee's neck, making her gasp, but make no further exclamation of pain. Starscream pulled away again, but whispered in her nape, “Megatron is getting suspicious of my movement. It is best we stop this for now.”

“You honestly think I care what Megatron thinks?” Arcee asked with the most dismissive of scoffs.

“No, but I suspect you still wish to put your spike in me,” Starscream said, licking the small wound he inflicted. “Give it at least a week before we meet again, so I can divert the aft-lord's attention elsewhere.”

“Make it quick.”

Starscream nodded and unceremoniously pulled out of his temporary lover, standing and tucking away his equipment. Arcee did not react to the unabiding treatment, instead closing her own panel and standing with the lanky seeker. They never had a proper dismissal for one another, but typically they would rather awkwardly transform and go their separate ways, giving each of their appropriate parties whatever excuse they thought best.

But Arcee still had work to do, even as she watched Starscream turn and exit the cave the way she came in. As soon as she heard him transform and jet away, she solemnly pulled out her blades again, cutting away what little of the wall that housed her energon. She sheathed her blades and pulled the cluster free. Instead of continuing to dig for more, she looked into crystal fragments, turning it over in her servos to examine it. As she allowed the image to burn itself into her processors, Arcee suddenly felt dizzy. She pressed a servo to her face, attempting to wrest control and balance back from the rogue thoughts that threatened her. Arcee again forced herself to focus and make a swift exit of the damp cave and call for a bridge.

Perhaps the week away from Starscream would grant her the clarity she desperately needed.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trying something new again. If you've read my fics before, this Starscream may seem familiar. The fun part is getting to know him from someone else's perspective.
> 
> Comments and crits welcome.


	2. Chapter 2

Arcee waited the proposed week she was given and she had not heard anything from Starscream. She was a patient femme though, so she waited another week. And then another. Starscream had not been on the battlefield either, now that she thought about it. Arcee almost felt ill at the idea that she might be worried that something may have happened to him, due to Megatron or otherwise. Just in case, she sent a text-only comm to his personal link. Still there was no answer.

For the following days, Arcee thought it would be best to forget she ever had any intimate contact with the seeker at all. It was a difficult prospect though when she took her frustrations out on hapless drones on the field and even her own comrades during more rigorous sparring matches.

She'd nearly fractured her digits on Bulkhead's arm when he brought it up to guard himself.

“Jeez, Arcee. You okay?” the big mech asked when he heard the creak of her joints.

“Yeah,” she growled, slowly taking her servo away.

“You been on edge lately. Everything uh-”

“YES, Bulkhead, everything is FINE!” Arcee winced when she held her sore servo, gripping it harder than she meant to and putting even more strain on her damaged joints.

“S-sorry. Need Ratchet to look at that?”

“NO!” Arcee shouted, making Bulkhead flinch. Quickly realizing how harsh she was being, she forced herself to take a deep vent. “Sorry, Bulk. Been stressed out lately.”

“Nah, I get it. Been getting' pretty crowded around here, right?” Bulkhead asked. Arcee assumed he was referring to their latest recruit; yet another Autobot consuming resources and her patience. “Figured why that's why you been takin' off all the time.”

“Yeah,” Arcee said, looking away. She would take whatever convenient excuse she could. “Still, I shouldn't have gone off on you. I'll try to take it easy from now on.”

“I hope so,” Bulkhead said. Arcee nodded as she walked away to excuse herself for the evening, but he spoke yet again, “Ya know if you ever wanna throw the lob around, or go for a drive or something...”

Arcee smiled with a short look back, “I'll keep that in mind.”

The expression betrayed her true feelings, however. She wished something simple and undoubtedly healthier than her previous habits would curb her needs. Arcee knew what she wanted, and the lack of satisfaction turned to a burning rage. As she departed from Bulkhead, she decided instead to lock herself in her quarters for the next hour or so to try and burn off her anger her own way. She was sure her codpiece was warming just to spite her.

“Damn you, Starscream,” she muttered as her door closed behind her.

 

* * *

 

A few more days rolled by and Arcee frequently burned off her steam by sparring with the Wreckers, taking long drives, and the blessed few moments she had to herself were used for her own pleasure. Finally she had begun to feel normal again. Normal by molding from the war, but back to her own self nonetheless. Some days, the thought of binding silver wings didn't even cross her mind.

On days like this when they did, Arcee would need to drive, and drive fast.

There was no more driving down the empty stretches of road leading out of Jasper since the Decepticons took over. Random locations that were far from it via ground-bridge were chosen for scouting; only resources they were able to pinpoint nearby would have to be quickly and safely pillaged. Arcee didn't fully intend to do any scouting at first, not until she could clear her helm. She drove down several stretches of long, straight country roads many miles out from the base. As more trees and forested area came into view, she found herself calm enough to search the area for spare energon. She returned to her pedes after steering into a small thicket, taking only a moment to stretch before reaching for her scanner.

But then, she heard that voice again, though it wasn't speaking to her this time.

Arcee immediately ducked down, keeping her optics wide and her audials open. She stayed low to the ground, following the source; her helm stayed on a swivel to be completely sure she wouldn't be ambushed. Over a small hill, she spotted him: the lanky, silver seeker cast in specks of moonlight that showed through the trees, his digit on his comm-link, bickering with someone. Without thinking, Arcee continued to stealthily move along the ground, hiding behind the occasional tree when Starscream looked over his shoulder. Her spark was pounding.

Now she was just a few meters away and he was none the wiser. But she needed to wait until he was off the line. No reason to cause alarm for whoever he might be speaking to. She only needed a moment alone with him...

The moment he furiously disconnected his link, Arcee pounced. She shot out from her hiding spot, hitting Starscream like a missile and sending them rolling down a small hill. Starscream nearly shrieked as they landed on his wing, bending it slightly. Arcee managed to keep her ground however and landed on top of him with his back to her, quickly pulling out her blade and holding it dangerously close to his throat.

“Where have you been?” she demanded, pulling the blade closer. “I haven't heard from you in weeks-”

“Arcee?!” Starscream gasped through the dirt that quickly threatened to clog his airways, “Are you trying to get me killed, you fragging lunatic?!”

“I promise you deserve worse,” Arcee growled, “Now tell me where you've been.” Before giving him any chance to respond, her other servo shot out and grabbed his injured wing, digging her razor sharp digits into the bend of it, making him scream. “Talk!”

“W-what do you want me to say?!” Starscream cried. “I told you I needed time-”

“You told me ONE week, not six,” she argued, mercifully letting go of the seeker's wing.

“I thought that's all it would take!” Starscream felt the blade close in on his throat again, just barely cutting into his lines. “But he was keeping tabs on me and I could barely move without his say-so! That blasted oaf expected full prostration at all times after he caught me hiding energon off the ship!”

Arcee's theory was confirmed for her and for a moment, she pulled the blade away from Starscream's neck. “I was wondering why energon suddenly started appearing where it wasn't before. It was you the whole time?”

“Yes, you loathsome-”

“Why?”

“I needed some reason to drag you out besides for a quick frag; if resources were on the line, it might give you more incentive.”

Arcee suddenly sheathed her weapon, instead wrapping her servo loosely around Starscream's throat, keeping it angled up. “So you did all this to keep me coming?”

“Don't flatter yourself,” Starscream said, his dentae gritted. “Staying on that ship for days at a time is maddening. I need a reason to leave, and any reasonable excuse I can feed him is good enough for me.”

“Such a charmer,” she said with blatant cynicism. “Now open your panel.”

“Are you mad?! You've just mangled my wing!”

“You won't be on your back. You'll be fine.”

Starscream seemed to give it some thought before displaying himself before her. He didn't necessarily feel like interfacing after the short but heated fight, but he let that fire fuel his arousal; the slightest bit of lubricant eased the way for Arcee's spike as she hastily shoved it in. As he so often did, Starscream tried not to fuel her ego by making any sort of sound, but like Arcee, he was frustrated. A few grunts and gasps escaped him, even as Arcee pressed his helm into the dirt as she took him from behind. Arcee would never grow tired of the power Starscream willingly gave her over him, but something didn't quite feel right. Maybe a change was in order.

Arcee let go and pulled her spike from Starscream, “Turn around.”

Starscream hardly wanted to take orders from a lowly two-wheeler, but he had neither the time nor patience to argue and much preferred to get off. He positioned himself on his back – gently – so Arcee could better find her pleasure. “I thought you said I wouldn't be on my back.”

“Well apparently it's a little harder to finish with that angle today.” Arcee's optics only assisting her spike as she slowly sunk back into the warm, wet heat. Starscream let out a gasp, and they resumed their previous rhythm.

Arcee had kept her servos on the ground next to Starscream's hips, purely concentrating on her pleasure as the seeker likely did his own as his claws dug into the earth beneath him. Staring elsewhere did not aid in this venture, so Arcee's optics wandered; they looked up his lithe frame, tracing the curves and seams, the twitch of his wings until at last they paused on his face, scrunched in pleasure. Arcee could finally feel her spike swell and without even a second though, her servo reached out to touch his face. She suddenly found wide, red optics staring back at her, but Arcee continued, now putting her full weight on the seeker's broad chest, holding his stare. Much to her surprise, Starscream's expression softened, even going to far to rest his servos on her hips.

In what was undoubtedly a shared moment of understanding, they found things they weren't even searching for: anger at their individual leaders' lack of action, exhaustion of fighting, and desire for something more in life. For just a moment, their mutual hatred for one another burned away and they didn't see Autobot or Decepticon, but rather each other, yearning for more than what was dealt to them. Through that momentary understanding, Arcee found her overload and she kept her servos on those slender hips to prolong the moment. She was so lost that she barely realized Starscream had wrapped his long legs around her.

In the moments it took for Arcee's vents to even out, Starscream butt in, “Are you quite done?”

Arcee bristled and in an instant, was ready to lash out at the obnoxious seeker, even if he sounded exhausted as well. But as the moon's glow cast a light on their coupling, Arcee gave pause. Many dents and small lacerations littered Starscream's frame from thighs to wingtips and Arcee didn't understand where her sudden concern was coming from.

Sensing distress and the obvious disgust from the femme atop him, Starscream snarled, “Get off of me!”

With fluid quickness, Arcee pulled out of the harried seeker and tucked her spike away as Starscream momentarily rolled to the side and got up, an intermittent tremor running through his frame, his back turned to her. Arcee quickly stood in an attempt to snip at him, “Starscream-”

“Don't! We interfaced so we're done for the evening.”

Arcee gave him a hard glare. He idly picked at his seams. “Where are the dents from? You haven't been on the field.”

“And?” Starscream asked, dusting himself off. Unfortunately, Arcee could not be deterred. He half-turned to the obstinate femme and backed away from her as she inched in front of him, “What do you care??”

“Is someone back home hurting you?”

“It's none of your business! Just leave me be!” Starscream shouted, then turned, fully intending to transform and jet away as fast as possible. But as he shifted his wings into place, he whined and dropped to his knees. Starscream cursed under his vents as he heard Arcee approach, unable to really stop her.

“Let me pop this dent,” she insisted, feeling along the edge of his wing.

“Don't touch-!” Any sound Starscream was going to make dissolved in his throat as Arcee quickly but effectively evened out his wing. It was a good sort of hurt, and Starscream almost couldn't make sense of it. He flexed his wings, feeling them out for any abnormality. He was impressed at how much better he felt.

“It's as good as it's gonna get right now, but have Knock Out look at that for you.”

“Don't tell me what to do,” Starscream grumbled, continuing to flutter his wings. He was going to call for a bridge, but thought better of it since Arcee was right behind him, and trying to give him orders, no less. Starscream paused, cursing his momentary weakness. He looked back at her. “Thanks,” he muttered, and turned back, jetting away into the twilight.

As the vapor trails vanished, Arcee continued to question the secrets that Starscream continually kept. Her personal knowledge hungered for the answer, but there was always her war-torn self that so desired that high-ground.

Arcee desired that brief but blessed closeness she got from Starscream but never considered it a mainstay in her life. She was an Autobot and he a Decepticon, one that had murdered one she cared deeply about. Once he finally got his due for his sins, be it through her servos or Megatron's, it was what he deserved, and Arcee would have no regrets.

 _'Starscream deserves it,'_ Arcee told herself as she drove down the same dirt road as before, repeating the mantra over and over like a prayer, until she believed it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't been feeling as inspired lately, but now that I'm done with this chapter, I'm hoping my ideas will flow more freely and I can get more chapters out sooner. I have other ideas on the backburner.

 The coming days after confirming Starscream had been planting caches of energon had been somewhat simpler. There were still spots to be found, to be fought over and likely won; but eventually, the random popups became far less common and shortly after, stopped altogether. The Autobots still had to scan and sometimes chase Decepticon activity, and still most days, Arcee didn't see Starscream. On such days, she would have to comm him in privacy, and in some broken text, he would reply “N O T N O W”. It made her anxious.

Arcee stopped worrying so much when Starscream actually made it to their meetings, though they were becoming shorter each time. The femme tried not to give it much thought when she was with him, since there was a very likely probability that one day, she would never hear from Starscream again.

On this day though, after little more than a week without seeing one another, Starscream seemed particularly lethargic. Arcee had been doing light scouting in the dense forest they'd agreed to meet in when she finally saw him. He didn't swoop in on her location or bridge in next to her; Starscream seemed to meander through the woodwork in a weak attempt to find Arcee. Even as she whipped around on him with her guns drawn, Starscream didn't even seem to notice them, instead walking toward her, nonchalant as could be. Arcee wondered why he didn't attempt anything underhanded as he sauntered slowly past her.

“You can do all the work, yes?” Starscream asked, his vents somewhat heavy even though they hadn't even fought for dominance this time. Without even waiting for her answer, Starscream reclined against a particularly broad tree trunk, eyeing her expectantly.

Arcee raised an eyebrow at his lack of fervor and walked the few steps to meet him, straddling his lap and looking into the shallow sea of crimson, finding exhaustion behind the translucent glass. “Have you recharged recently?”

“Does it matter?” Starscream asked, unsheathing his spike. It pushed lazily at Arcee's panel.

“It does if you can't even frag me right because of it,” Arcee murmured, holding the slender cord still so she could properly seat herself on it. She let out a sigh as Starscream's optics rolled to the back of his helm, reclining farther as Arcee took the lead, gyrating her hips and grinding herself on the seeker's spike. His claws latched loosely on her hips as Arcee bounced on him, only letting out heavy huffs each time their codpieces met. As expected, Arcee did most of the work, Starscream's hips only occasionally pushing up now and again to meet her, his helm resting against the tree he reclined on. Eventually though, Arcee grew irritated with his lack of enthusiasm. “You bored already?”

“W-what...?” Starscream drawled, his optics gradually making their contact with the miffed femme's.

“What's the matter with you?” she asked. Suddenly she was less interested in being fragged than she was with whatever might be plaguing Starscream.

“Nothing. What are you on about?”

“I'm 'on' about you slacking. What's your deal? Megatron been running you that ragged? Because I haven't seen you around much. What is it?”

“It's nothing!” Starscream rasped, finally showing a flash of emotion, “Are you going to finish or not?” He hadn't realized his claws were suddenly buried a little deeper into Arcee's seams, but she barely noticed.

“Not, since you look like you're about to pass out,” Arcee responded, pulling off the half-hard spike with a quiet gasp and standing.

“You're leaving, then?” he asked, a mixture of disappointment and agitation bleeding into his tone.

“I'm stepping out a minute,” she said, grimacing as her panel closed. “I'd tell you to sit tight but I doubt that's a problem for you.”

Starscream rolled his optics, but let them stay focused to the back of his helm as he offlined them, now just listening to Arcee make her exit, a ground-bridge sounding just afterward. He thought for a moment he could rest, even just for a moment, away from the bustle and suffocating pressure that was the _Nemesis_. But then, Arcee returned at the klik he dozed off and was all the more annoyed for it. Instead of turning back to her, he feigned recharge, choosing to be deaf to her presence even as she walked up to him.

“I take it you don't need energon then?” Arcee asked, swirling the small cube in her servo a bit.

Suddenly Starscream didn't much feel like recharging; his optics shot open to find a full cube of fresh fuel and he snatched it from the femme's servo, immediately downing the entire thing.

“I stand corrected.” She watched as Starscream greedily drank the full cube before dropping it at his side. Arcee let him catch his vents before speaking again, “So you haven't been refueling. Why?”

“Please,” Starscream grumbled, “You think I would choose not to purposely?”

“I guess not,” Arcee responded, sitting next to him with her own cube in hand. “Megatron then?”

“Obviously.” There was a distant look Starscream gave the sky before him: dark and grey and thundering toward them. Instead of the looming storm, he glanced to the side, seeing a half-full cube of energon in small but deadly servos.

“Because of your off-ship caches?”

“You're perceptive as ever,” Starscream answered, another roll of his optics. They settled on the clouds ahead of them. “The brute decided my ideal punishment was to cut my rations completely for all the energon I'd taken from the ship. He gladly threatened anyone who dared try to offer me any fuel at all. He probably gets off on my suffering.”

Arcee felt a heavy weight in the pit of her tank as Starscream spoke so crassly about his feelings about his own “punishment”. Rather than comment something she'd regret in response to Megatron's barbaric actions, she took a heavy drink from her cube, noticing that Starscream was eyeing it again. She set the cube back on her lap, “Did you still want some?”

Starscream's optics suddenly darted elsewhere, his brow knitted in frustration. “I don't need your pity.”

“What makes you think I'd pity someone like you?”

“Charity then! Whatever you want to call it.” Starscream vaguely gestured with his servo before letting it fall again, still choosing not to look at her.

Arcee rolled her optics at the seeker's behavior, not at all buying his act. “You're a terrible liar.”

“As if I was asking-” Starscream gasped as Arcee crawled back on top of him, rubbing herself on his softened spike with her cube still in her hand. “What are you doing?”

“We aren't done here,” Arcee said, keeping her optics locked on Starscream. She grinned as she felt his claws on her hips again, though they seemed to dig more into her seams this time. Sensing that ripple of frustration, Arcee placed the cube to Starscream's lips. “Drink.”

Without a second thought, Starscream eagerly sipped from the offered cube, unconcerned with how it might look. Arcee was careful as she slowly tipped it back, letting the seeker drink at his leisure. To get him back on task, she wiggled her hips, reminding him of the purpose for their meeting. Then, Arcee pulled the cube back.

“Can't have you getting too full now,” she teased.

Starscream whined at the loss, but gave the femme what she wanted. He reached between them, positioning his now fully pressurized spike so Arcee could properly take him. As she sunk on it, Starscream suddenly seemed more enthusiastic; his hips moved to meet hers, he was more vocal, almost passionate. It spurred Arcee's arousal as she leaned into him, causing their chest plates to scrape together, threatening to drown out their heated moans.

Arcee had nearly forgotten there was still a half-full cube of energon in her hand. Just to be rid of it, she brought it to her lips, but caught Starscream's widened optics as she did. Arcee kept her optics trained on Starscream's, seeing he wasn't staring at her, but her fuel. Having such passive power over the seeker gave Arcee a sadistic thrill. As she downed her energon, a look of pure devastation consumed his expressions, his claws became daggers when they dug into her hips and lower back. While maintaining contact, Arcee threw back the remaining energon and tossed the cube; she held the fuel in her mouth and forcefully pressed her lips to his. Starscream nearly sputtered as he felt warm energon flood his intake. In the moment it took him to regain his senses, he eagerly drank down the liquid, not minding he was inviting Arcee's glossa along with it. Once the energon was gone, Starscream still found his lips firmly latched to Arcee's, suddenly desiring more than just the fuel she offered.

There was a warmth, comfort, and need that Starscream wasn't sure he'd ever feel again, from anyone. He kept the small femme pulled close and was pleased that she seemingly felt the same when she accepted the embrace as they locked together in a final rush of bliss. Starscream still found himself in a haze when Arcee suddenly pulled away.

“We should stop,” she whispered, before going back in for a few more, possibly too-aggressive kisses.

“We should,” Starscream agreed, but never stopped meeting her advancements.

Arcee suppressed a growl somewhere in her vocalizer as she pressed her lips to Starscream's again, swirling their glossas together before pulling away again. “But I don't want to,” she whispered again. Without warning, she bit Starscream's lower lip, though gently. Arcee was surprised but glad he only let out a harsh sigh, looking into her optics again. She let go before continuing, “I can keep bringing you energon if you come out more often.”

“Are you trying to bribe me, Arcee...?” he asked in a low but seductive tone.

“If you consider this trying to fill your basic needs, then yes, I'm bribing you.”

Neither one backed down from the looks they gave one another, whether it was in intimidation or question; it was as if they scoured for doubt in those deceptively deep pools of crimson and aqua. They both had questions, but neither one was willing to entertain them. It could have been considered a blessing when Arcee suddenly stood, yanking her valve from Starscream's spike and pulling quiet grunts from each of them. She stepped a few meters away to properly redress.

“You could warn me next time,” Starscream said bitterly, giving himself a moment before tucking his equipment away.

“I thought we were under strict time codes?” Arcee mentioned. She cringed slightly as her panel closed to her messy valve.

“That doesn't mean there isn't proper one-time interface etiquette.” Starscream stood as well, though shakily, trying to stretch his extremities the best he could in his weakened state. “When could you meet next?”

“Already eager to see me again?” she asked with a smirk.

“You wretched, unbearable-”

“Oh calm down,” Arcee ordered as she turned to face the prissy seeker. His wings were high, his optics wide and bright; Starscream looked far more alert than he had at the beginning of their meeting. It was as if he was back to his normal self. She closed the gap between them, brazenly grasping his pointed chin to force his attention. “Let me know when you need energon, alright? Whenever you can make it out of the ship, just comm me and I should make it out soon.” Without Starscream's fight, she pressed her helm crest to his. As he began to lean into her, she pulled away completely. She gave her foe one last glance before whipping back around, taking to her wheels and speeding off in the opposite direction.

For a moment, Arcee couldn't believe what she had just offered. But there was a side of her that saw unwavering compassion for a mech in need, and perhaps it was the Autobot in her to see him helped, as she couldn't understand why she would ever want to help Starscream of all mechs. The same Starscream who killed Cliffjumper, who often bragged of it, so often provoked her, and at the same time, drew her close, freely chatting with her about their problems, as if he had the capacity for something as meager as compassion. Arcee hated him for it, as it began to blur the line between enemy Decepticon and an actual mech.

She decided she wasn't going to think about it though. Not until Starscream gave her a call and begged or demanded energon from her, depending on his mood. As the thunder rolled behind her, Arcee knew she would oblige the seeker, as she always did, no matter how many times she told herself she hated him.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought I'd have this out much sooner, my apologies. On the bright side, the next chapter is mostly done.
> 
> Extra note:
> 
> /comm chatter/

Starscream was not a mech to let anything go, and thus reminded Arcee as often as he could that he still needed energon. It was twice as unfortunate; Arcee had to often bring him energon to their meetings every few days, and it wasn't always easy to leave with one of the sizable cubes they kept in the base. Only bringing a human-sized glass was not nearly enough for a starving mech, thus she shared a full cube with Starscream as often as she was able. His verbal gratitude was always muttered, but he truly showed it with his actions. Arcee would never take issue with her spike being ridden.

Somewhere over a week though it became more difficult for Starscream to come out. This was nothing new to Arcee; however, this was different. She worried, since as far as she knew, Starscream was chronically in need of fuel. She continued trying to comm him to check in on him, with varying degrees of success. On those rare successful connections, Starscream often sounded tired when they spoke. Arcee hated feeling this powerless.

Until one day when he finally agreed to meet, he stressed it would have to be a very short meeting. Arcee agreed, confiding to the nearest party member that she needed to step out. She followed her usual routine: set the coordinates, arrive at the destination, the bridge would close behind her and somewhere around her would appear a needy and demanding seeker. There was never a push to interface, but it became so interwoven into their meetings that Arcee's plating warmed in anticipation anyway. But as Arcee stepped on the dirt before her and the portal closed behind her, there was no such mech to greet her. In fact, there was nothing but the same type of tree surrounding her in every direction. It wouldn't be the first time Starscream was late, so Arcee waited patiently, leaning against a sturdy tree and checking her chronometer far too often. Maybe not as patiently as she thought.

At long last, another bridge appeared close to her and she stood upright to greet the mech exiting it. Except, the expected mech was red instead of silver, making her draw her weapon.

“Whoa, let's dial it back a bit, hm?” Knock Out said as his own bridge disappeared from behind him.

“What do YOU want?” Arcee demanded.

“Not here for the interfacing,” the cherry mech said defensively, even holding his servos up even though his optics remained alert and devious. “I just need the energon.”

Despite his assertion, Arcee raised a brow. “What are you talking about?”

“Oh, honestly. You think the blue scrapes on Starscream's armor was just from fighting? No, no, my dear Autobot. It's far too convenient an excuse.” Knock Out dropped his facade and put a defiant servo on his hip. “You both are far too flagrant to escape _my_ observance.”

Arcee again made a facial expression that resembled disgust as she put away her weaponry to address the obnoxious Decepticon properly. “You seriously think we're interfacing?” she asked, for now feigning ignorance.

“I do. The markings are far too... _deliberate_ to be from a fight. Besides,” Knock Out said with a flourish, pretending to dust off his own armor, “it's not as if I haven't 'traded paint' with other mechs before.”

There was a scowl, or maybe a sneer that formed on Arcee's face and Knock Out could plainly see it. He knew her secret. _Their_ secret. The only question would be what happened because of it. “Who have you told?”

“No one.” Knock Out retained his defiant, passive pose despite Arcee's intimidating glares. “All I requested from Starscream was a few details. In exchange, I'd buff out all those unsightly marks on his armor, thus expunging any obvious extracurricular activities from my fellow Decepticon.”

“... That's all you want? Details?” Arcee asked with an arched brow.

“Indeed. It's a nice change of pace from the monotony of fighting, don't you think? The thrill of knowing your comrade is fragging an enemy?”

Arcee wanted to argue further, to berate this hedonistic bot until his ego was quashed into nothingness, but she did not have the time nor patience for such a task. She forced herself to mentally take a step back and remember why she was even here to begin with. “Why isn't Starscream here himself?”

Now, Knock Out altered his stance, shifting his weight around to either side before he answered her question. “Too close under watch, I'm afraid. He sent me in his place.”

Arcee observed the opposing mech a moment to scan for any clear deception. “Is there any reason you couldn't give him your fuel, or take some from whatever storage you have?”

“Mm, unfortunately, Lord Megatron is keeping tight tabs on the storage; Soundwave is quite vigilant in monitoring security footage as well. I couldn't give him anything if I tried,” Knock Out confessed with a shrug. “He is truly a pitiful sight, but I'm glad he has some sort of outside help, though the interfacing does come off as somewhat... extraneous.”

The two locked optics in a fiery, determined, and concerned glare.

“What sort of condition is he in?” Arcee asked incredulously.

“I would say he's done better with your influence. But truth be told, I don't have the sort of free time that he does, so, about that energon?” Knock Out's question trailed off as he held out his servo expectantly.

Arcee's brow furrowed again, but she stepped forward, pulling the small cube of fuel from her subspace. She held it out to him. “Make sure he gets it.”

“I would do nothing less,” the medic claimed, hiding the cube away in his own subspace. “We thank you for your service, Arcee.”

Arcee's helm cocked at Knock Out's smirk, but had no time to process it as another bridge opened behind him, letting out a flood of drones that quickly fired at her upon arrival. With barely the time to react, Arcee transformed and turned on her heels, speeding away in the opposite direction and cursing her own choices and for a moment, trusting Starscream.

Arcee waited until she was out of firing range to attempt to comm the seeker. She sprung off her wheels and onto her pedes and pressing a digit to her comm, “You could have told me you weren't coming,” she said harshly. Thankfully she received static instead of the half-expected haughty laughter. The silence gave her a moment to focus and curb her climbing anger. “I gave Knock Out one cube. Make sure he gets it to you.” Arcee paused again, tapping her toe as she again waited for a response. There was still nothing. Her servo was shaking. “Just- keep me updated.”

Finally, Arcee pulled her servo away from her comm and let it dangle at her side. It was probably just the Autobot in her, but she couldn't help but worry about Starscream, about his health and well-being. Being killed in battle, or by her own hand was one thing, but-

Arcee didn't want to think about it, she was under too much stress as it was. For now, the issue was out of her power, and she had to let it run its course. She transformed again, intent to take another lengthy drive before returning to base.

She didn't hear back from Starscream that day or the next. Or even the days after that. Not even a merciful, single-word text. Even if Knock Out had tricked her and not given him the fuel, it would still take a mech several, long months for a bot to offline after a stasis lock if they somehow went without for that long. Again, Arcee opted not to think about it and instead sent the occasional, passive ping to his comm frequency.

Until the hopeful received response, Arcee returned to her team to make up for neglected time. The hours drew late and the humans had more or less gone to their respective rooms to rest, despite how “tough” Miko tried to seem by staying up later. More than half the team went with them, and the few that didn't went on patrol. The monotony of working in shifts gave Arcee the sort of break from spontaneous aggression she needed.

Much to Bulkhead's urgence, she took up lobbing with the Wreckers. It was an excellent way for Arcee to burn off the excess physical charge she so often held for Starscream, even though that had been what brought them together to begin with. She forced him to the back of her mind for now, barely catching Bulkhead's compliment.

“You're doin' great, Arcee!” he said, winding up and throwing the lob back to her. “You sure you ain't done this before?”

Arcee planted her pedes as she caught the metal ball at her center and it pushed her back slightly. Her narrow feet scraped along the concrete floor. “I have, just not as a pastime like it was for you.” She jostled the thing in her hands a bit before winding up and throwing it back. She waited until Bulkhead caught it before speaking again. “Wheeljack and the commander finally getting along?”

The big mech paused a moment, thinking about how often the two had been stepping out together lately. “Y-yeah, I think so. I think Magnus finally loosened up enough to tolerate Jackie, heh,” he joked. He chucked it back again, probably harder than he meant to.

Again, Arcee caught the thing with ease, even if the force had gradually pushed her placement back by a few margins. “Better that than being at each other's throats all the time. We need to be cohesive. A team,” she stressed. Her digits dug into the ball lightly, where she saw some of her frustration. Then she looked to Bulkhead, who seemed more downtrodden than before. “ _Team_ work, Bulk.” Arcee tossed the lob back, allowing the big mech to catch it at the last second. “We all need to be a cohesive unit, right?”

“Yeah,” Bulkhead agreed with a nod of his helm. “You're right. I'm overthinkin' it.”

Arcee smiled, fully prepared to catch the lob that Bulkhead threw, but it nearly glanced off her servos as her comm pinged. As it bounced off her palm and upwards, Arcee had to force her focus as she reached to catch it safely, sighing relief that it hadn't damaged anything. Primus help her if it scratched the terminal Ratchet often used.

“You okay, Arcee??” Bulkhead asked quickly, ready to step in at an instant.

“Y-yeah, yeah, I'm fine.” Arcee forced out, for a moment trying to drown out the demands she overheard in her comm. She rubbed her palm just over her link to silence it discreetly, thankfully before Bulkhead made it to her. Before he could inquire further, she held the lob out to him, avoiding his optics in the process. “Sorry, Bulk, I don't feel so hot all of a sudden.” She was grateful he took it without much recourse, but as expected, he tried to say more as she attempted to slink away.

“You need me to grab Ratch, or-”

“Nope, no, I'll be fine,” Arcee said hurriedly, faking a dry-heave as she tried to project as much physical illness as possible.

“Just- uh, let me know if you-” Bulkhead watched as Arcee disappeared through the base door and shutting it behind her. “... need anything.”

Outside though, Arcee trotted away as quietly as she could, setting herself behind one of the other hangars. She didn't worry about stray humans discovering her, as the military base was miles away from civilization, only housing Autobots and occasional military personnel. She finally reached to her comm again, “Starscream, are you alright?”

/My, Arcee,/ the seeker purred, /you were worried about me?/

She was, but that worry quickly diminished the overt arrogance Starscream projected. He must have taken her concern as weakness, thus giving him permission to be a smartaft. “I see I don't have to be with how you're acting,” she sneered, though she was relieved he didn't sound on the verge of death as he usually portrayed himself. “We need to have a chat.”

/Oh? Am I in trouble?/

“I haven't decided yet.” Arcee bit her lip as every word she wanted to say to him blared at her at once, creating nothing but a mass of unwanted noise in her processor and threatened to break her train of thought. “I can't get a bridge right now, but I'll send you coordinates. You'd better be there.”

/Certainly, if it means you're still filling my 'basic needs'./

Arcee rolled her optics, regretful that her intended target didn't see it. “Unlike you, I try to keep my promises.”

. . .

Arcee disappeared from the base once again with no real warning, only having told Bulkhead she didn't feel well. She managed to sneak half a cube out from one of the hangars but didn't want to risk any more than that. Roughly an hour snuck by without her notice, though a part of her was anxious of Starscream's whereabouts. Somewhere above her, there was the sound of a screaming engine, and she knew who it belonged to.

Starscream transformed and landed a few odd meters away from Arcee, looking as smug as ever despite how dim his optics still looked. Arcee returned the look with something more akin to fury, or disgust, she hoped. His expression didn't change, even as they had closed the distance, but still left a sizable gap between them. Arcee thought it best that she start the conversation.

“You want to tell me why it's necessary to give Knock Out our interfacing details?” she asked, a deep scowl set on her face and an expectant servo on her hip.

“And it's so nice to see you again as well, Arcee,” Starscream sneered at the initial exchange. “While I'm sure it would mean nothing to you, Knock Out has no pledged loyalty to me, even if I outrank him. Unfortunately though, he is the only one on the ship I would be able to trust with such intimate details in exchange to keep my armor clean of your unsightly marks,” Starscream explained, making sure to keep his wings high, though this time they were close together, Arcee noticed. Perhaps that was a minuscule sign of weakness? “He knows we're interfacing and you'll have to deal with that.” Starscream's lips curled in a snarl, but it wasn't directed at her. He didn't like the idea of it either, but he also knew far worse things could become of him if someone other than the medic knew of this secret. “Knock Out swore he'd stay quiet, and we have to trust he will.”

“And how is it that _I'm_ supposed to trust him?”

“You don't. I know him well enough; he _loves_ having knowledge no one else does. Should he ever even _joke_ about telling anyone about our little arrangement, I swear I will end him.”

There was a fire to Starscream's optics that Arcee didn't always find, and coupled with his body language, made her certain he would take their secret to the Well. Arcee felt a warmth in her spark and behind her panel, and it only compelled her to close the gap between them. “How do I know that?”

“You would just have to trust me,” Starscream said lowly.

“Yeah, that won't happen.” Arcee pulled the seeker's helm down to her by his neck and latching her lips onto his. Starscream was surprised, but was no longer repelled by something so aggressive yet affectionate. He rested his servos on her shoulders as she brought her free hand to his hip. She broke the kiss, “There's a reason you're called a Decepticon.”

“And yet you're still here.” Starscream grinned down at her, knowing he could at least be irksome without completely infuriating her.

“At least you're a half-decent frag,” Arcee shot back with her own, cocky smirk. Luckily, her comeback tipped the seeker just enough.

“How _dare_ -”

Starscream was cut off with another forceful kiss, a nip to his bottom lip. “You'll get over it,” Arcee murmured, backing him into another convenient tree. “Sit.”

“You topped last time!”

“I will again even if you want to fight me for it.”

Starscream growled, but didn't have the strength or desire for a brawl. With his decreased energon intake, he didn't have the strength for as much as he liked, anyway. May as well as enjoy what “free” time he had. He made his seat against the base of the tree.

“That's a good mech,” Arcee purred as she settled between Starscream's barely-spread legs.

“You disgust me,” Starscream sneered.

“The feeling's mutual.” Arcee nipped at Starscream's lips again, and he was more open to biting back. She rubbed her codpiece against his valve panel, granting her a moment to latch onto his neck as he pulled back in a gasp. Arcee could hardly contain her glee at the pure submission that Starscream showed if touched in just the right way. She opened her panel and her spike pressed him insistently, but he remained stubborn as always. “Well?”

“Well what?” he asked, refusing the optic-contact she clearly wanted.

“Are you going to open your panel or would you prefer I frag your thighs to get off?” Arcee asked, almost in a threat. Starscream sputtered at the idea with how he turned his helm away. It almost seemed like he was entertaining the idea until he finally turned back to give her a proper answer.

“If that's all you're after, I may as well get something out of it as well,” he said, pushing her off a moment so he could turn over. He kept his frame hunched with his panel open, legs and wings spread to give Arcee all the room she needed. His helm stayed pressed to the ground. At least the post-coital showers were something to look forward to.

“I'm glad you see it my way,” Arcee said as she mounted Starscream. She would have preferred he stayed sitting, but she would take whatever position that was offered to her. Again she rubbed her spike teasingly between the seeker's now-exposed folds, lightly lubricating it as she went. At her satisfaction, she carefully nudged her spike into his valve, gently spreading it and taking time to enjoy the warmth it provided. It didn't take long for her to find a proper rhythm; as usual, her servos rested on his hips and she took her time in taking her pleasure as she liked. Lately though, she found the ordeal much more satisfying if her partner got off too, but it was more rare for Starscream if he was the once receiving.

Though Starscream was making quiet but pleasurable noises, his body was receptive, but not preparing itself for overload. Arcee wanted to test his limits. She leaned over him with her helm between his wings; the appendages twitched, but bowed away from her. Arcee could almost feel his spark through his back.

“Hey,” she whispered.

“W-what?” Starscream asked, only his optics moving toward her.

“You've been feeling better, right? Knock Out brought you that fuel and all?”

“Yes-!” Starscream moaned when she hit a particularly wonderful cluster of nodes.

“Good, because I'd hate to zap all your energy after you cream yourself.” Arcee suddenly sat upright, digging her heels in and fragging the seeker hard, bringing out more delicious cries from his vocalizer as he pushed back into her. It nearly shorted out when Arcee rubbed at his clit, pulling a violent overload from him and dragging the femme with him. Her moans were almost guttural as she pumped him full; her spike remained completely buried inside, digits rubbing lazy circles over his anterior node while it throbbed. After a moment, she nearly collapsed on top of him, but barely stayed up with a flimsy servo planted next to her. Feeling the rush of pleasure begin to pass, she said finally, “Whore.”

“Deviant.”

Arcee let a few breathy laughs escape her vocalizer as she slumped over Starscream, exhausted.

“What's so funny?” Starscream asked, equally exasperated but he locked his own position, keeping them both mostly upright. He lazily craned his neck to see her.

“We're still casual, right?”

“Obviously.” There was a bitterness to his tone, his wings angling down, which Arcee likely missed in her euphoria.

“Just making sure,” Arcee huffed another laugh before pulling her spike free, using his upturned aft to push herself up.

“You're delirious,” Starscream said, standing as well. He closed his panel and dusted off his knee guards, doing his best to minimize evidence of his activities. “Why did you ask that?”

“No reason in particular,” Arcee replied, stretching her limbs.

“And you accuse me of being a poor liar,” he muttered before standing upright. “Where is my energon?”

“Oh. I guess I completely forgot about that.” Arcee turned back to him, wearing a smirk she assumed would set him off. It wasn't a tall feat.

Wings high and wide with his own expression set to murder, Starscream stepped forward to confront the obnoxious femme, but didn't expect to be pulled down to her, locking their lips together. Suddenly, he felt his usually fiery passion morph into something with less fervor. It was quick to come back when Arcee suddenly set something in his servos and pushed him back.

“What was-” Starscream's optics darted between the fuel given to him and its provider.

“We're late,” Arcee said quickly, starting to step back. “Go back to your master. I'll comm you later.” She tried to offer even a weak smile after abruptly pulling away from him, but couldn't manage it when she saw the mixture of anger and confusion on his face. Before she gave herself a chance to change her mind, she turned away, quickly transforming weaving her way out of the forest and down the nearest road.

Arcee's spark hammered in itself against the chamber. Her entire frame burned and her optics were beginning to sting despite being in her alt-mode. She couldn't properly compartmentalize her emotions and they began boiling over in her mounting frustration. She had to get away, she needed some distance...

Above her, she heard the distinct, crisp sound of a jet engine. Starscream easily closed the distance between them, but instead of speeding past her, he kept her pace. Arcee didn't think her spark could pulse any faster than it had. He stayed with her as she remained on uninhabited road. Was it a threat? Or perhaps, he wanted to stay with her a bit longer?

The latter hardly seemed likely.

A bridge appeared somewhere high in the sky above them, and Arcee felt the hot draft from Starscream's engines hit her as he arced upwards and disappeared through the portal. Now, Arcee's spark seemed to clench in on itself as if were imploding and she could feel the heat in her audials. Arcee kept driving, summoning Sadie before making it back into town. Though they didn't come up, she had a new set of problems she would need to sort out before she sought out the company of Decepticons again.

 


	5. Chapter 5

Arcee stared blankly at the dark cave ceiling as her mind was crowded, each thought drawing lines to connect every decision she made to get her to this point. She considered the turning point to be when she discovered Starscream was being deprived of energon and felt the need to intervene. That felt like ages ago, as the seeker was practically back to his old, infuriating self, though Arcee still found herself bringing a snack-sized cube to their meetings long after the fact. Just out of habit, she told herself. Most of it happened so fast it became a blur of events, but one thing was for certain: her relationship with Starscream was no longer “casual”.

Starscream might agree, were he not curled up next to her, deep in recharge with his arm thrown precariously across her chest.

Occasionally Arcee would steal a glance of his resting form. Sometimes Starscream's wings and talons would twitch; he'd even make odd but quiet chirping noises. It was almost cute, Arcee thought, but then she began wondering about more of Starscream's details...

Did he suffer from nightmares, too?

Before Arcee realized, her servo had taken Starscream's, holding both against her chest plate while the other servo under him tightened around his midsection. The seeker only curled in closer to her, making her smirk. It seemed he could be endearing as well.

More often than anything in recent meetings, Arcee and Starscream found themselves complaining to one another about their mutual hatred of Airachnid and took great pleasure discussing every detail of how they would tear her apart. But there was always much for Starscream to complain about when it came to Megatron. While at least he was giving Starscream fuel again, the warlord “never appreciates the work he does”, “favored Shockwave over him”, and in more quiet words, “openly berated and insulted him in front of others”. Arcee considered herself lucky to be surrounded by those she considered family (even Smokescreen had gotten more tolerable lately), but she questioned how or why Starscream would remain with the Decepticons when he was frequently treated so poorly.

Well, Arcee had a guess, but she kept it to herself. Even if it was true, she was sure Starscream would vehemently deny it. After all, Starscream always lied.

As if on cue, Starscream suddenly groaned and pulled himself closer to Arcee, effectively covering half her frame. Arcee stalled a moment to see if the seeker would move any further, but it seemed he was still deep in recharge.

Arcee huffed, deciding it might finally be time to wake him. Moving her trapped arm around his waist to hold him firm as her free servo tapped his chest a few times. “Starscream.”

A weak groan left his vocalizer, only nuzzling her neck and not moving any further.

“Seriously, you're crushing me, here.”

“I'm sure you're fine,” Starscream finally said. His voice was quite gravelly after waking up, Arcee noticed.

“You're heavier than you look. Off.” She gave his chest another swat.

“Fine, fine.” At last, Starscream moved mostly off of her, but remained at her side with his helm on her shoulder. She deemed it acceptable, venting a sigh of relief. “For shame, Arcee. What if I'm sensitive about my weight?”

“As sensitive as you are, I seriously doubt your weight is part of it.”

“How very un-Autobot of you to assume.”

“Well unfortunately for you, we're more than just our factions.”

Starscream and Arcee both stiffened at the realization, the very implication of those words. Neither would acknowledge it, instead they decided it better to allow silence to filter in. Starscream remained attached to Arcee, feeling the subtle touch of her digits against the underside of his wing. He was content to ignored the outside world a bit longer and drift into recharge again to the relaxing touches, but Arcee was not.

“What did you do before the war?” she asked.

Starscream flinched again. “Why does that matter?”

“Can't I make conversation without having ulterior motives?”

“I never know with you,” he answered, drawing a sharp digit over the curve of her breast plate. She swatted the servo away.

“I don't need my team getting suspicious of any new marks. It's bad enough I have to make convenient excuses besides scouting to get out of the base. Bulkhead is asking the most questions, though.” Arcee sighed. “I know he's just worried, but-”

“I hope you aren't getting all choked up, Arcee,” Starscream murmured, tracing his claws back up her chest, toward her neck. “I doubt you have any real consequences for sneaking out late at night, anyway.”

Arcee scoffed, placing her servo over Starscream's wrist this time, halting his movement. “Maybe, but the endless excuses and Bulkhead's smothering might be the death of me.”

“I'd much prefer if _I_ was the death of you,” he nearly purred, tapping his claws rhythmically on the glass of her chest.

“Right now?” Arcee challenged, “Because you look more exhausted than me.”

“Perhaps, after I get my fill of you,” Starscream said, suddenly shifting, moving on top of the femme and boxing her smaller frame beneath him. Arcee's servos immediately found his hips. “Or have you forgotten the purpose of these little meetings?”

“To get our taboo kicks by sleeping with the enemy?” Arcee asked. She brought one servo to the side of his face, tracing the edges of his vents.

“And to forget all the problems our troublesome comrades cause us?” Starscream nudged his helm crest against hers in time with his interface array.

“If we're being honest, my team doesn't exactly cause me issue.” Arcee returned the gestures to both areas, her servos freely roaming his frame. Starscream had rolled his optics at her humble response, making her smirk. She leaned up, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. “You want to go again?”

“How obvious must I make it to you?” Starscream asked, pressing his lips to hers a moment, giving it a teasing lick before pulling back and sitting fully on Arcee's lap, subtly moving his hips.

The femme hummed, enjoying the sensation. “I think you could try a little harder than that.”

“Is that so?” Starscream asked. Then opening his valve panel, he pressed his wet folds against the heated metal. “Better?”

“Much better,” she purred. Finally she obliged him, unsheathing her spike, allowing it to push at Starscream's sex. As he lifted himself, Arcee held her spike still, allowing him to properly connect with her. They sighed contentedly as Arcee's spike sunk fully into Starscream's sinfully soft valve for the second time during their meeting. But there was far less rush to their actions, now taking the time to feel every inch of each other's frames inside and out. Arcee's servos remained firmly on Starscream's hips, guiding his movements. Starscream was in absolute bliss; his helm was thrown back, optics dimmed, breathy gasps leaving his vocalizer. It seemed he no longer took issue that Arcee's spike was “underwhelming” in size. Arcee smiled to herself, fondly remembering the first heated night they had together. Starscream, in typical fashion, found it necessary to hurl insults at her after being soundly beaten after a scuffle for a negligible cache of energon. Her spike pulsed rhythmically as she remembered that night, but she was gently pulled from her reverie by larger servos over hers, holding firmly to her wrists as he gyrated his hips to hit every sensitive node he could. Arcee moaned at the lewd movement, digging her digits deeper into his seams.

“You're keeping us out too long,” Arcee rasped, trying hard to fend off her overload just a little bit longer.

“I haven't h-heard you complain,” he said, letting go of her wrists, instead balancing himself over her frame and bouncing his hips on her spike.

“Someone could come looking for us,” she breathed out, biting her lip as she focused on the sensation.

“They won't find us if you're actually quiet for once,” Starscream teased.

“Sure, I'm the one who can't stay quiet.” To prove her point, she brought her servo down between them and rolled her thumb over Starscream's anterior node, pulling a harsh gasp from him.

“Such a filthy move, Arcee.” Starscream deliberately ground his hips down for more contact. “Are all Autobots as deviant as you?”

“They might be. Do you plan to find out?”

Starscream scoffed. “I think fragging one, vile Autobot is more than enough, don't you? Let alone a two-wheeler.” He moaned softly as the combination of Arcee's perfectly angled spike and attentive digits brought him ever closer to his overload. “Besides, it would be far more arousing to see one of you taking your final vents as your spark is extinguished.” Starscream suddenly felt the tip of Arcee's pointed thumb scrape his anterior node. He shrieked as he practically leapt off of her hard spike. “What was THAT about?!” He suppressed a whine as he closed his servo over his valve.

“You seriously think it's okay to joke about killing my friends?!” Arcee demanded, forcefully tucking away her spike, ignoring the minor pain it caused. She stood and prepared herself for a fight.

After finally gathering himself, Starscream closed his panel, then standing to his full height, easily towering over the small femme. “Oh, I'm sorry, did I not make the same comment about YOU just moments ago?!”

“There's a difference!”

“We're literally on opposite sides of a war! We are _enemies_! What difference does it make whether I threaten you or them?!”

“Maybe if you actually had someone you cared about, you'd understand.”

Starscream recoiled entirely but quickly stepped back in place, determined not to back down from her. “So you finally show your true colors. You think I'm incapable of such feelings because I'm a Decepticon? Are we not 'more than our factions', or does that only apply to you?”

“I think it has more to do with you being a murderer.” Arcee flinched at the sudden, sharp laugh from Starscream.

“Oh, yes, please keep lecturing me over the war we both willingly joined! Remind me again how clean your servos are, Arcee. How many sparks have you snuffed? How many of my kind have you personally killed?” Starscream snarled.

“Our reasons are completely different!” Arcee insisted, taking half a step toward the livid seeker. Starscream met her in the middle.

“Regardless of our reasons, we're here because of it. But at least I can be honest with myself about it.”

“'Honesty',” Arcee scoffed, turning away with a cynical grin. “This was a mistake,” she muttered.

“Why? Because I actually have the bearings to call you out?”

“Don't flatter yourself. The world doesn't revolve around you.” Arcee steeled herself before turning back to face the seeker. “I'm ending this now.”

Starscream flinched, and his wings began to lower before he realized. Though his voice remained firm, challenging. “Really? You're going to throw away a perfectly good thing over a joke?”

“It doesn't matter what your intent was,” Arcee growled, “You've taken enough away from me as it is.”

“And you are a hypocrite. Perhaps if you ever remove your head from your aft, I'll consider forgiving you,” Starscream said in a low tone. In a small effort to salvage the situation, he reached his servo out, digits just barely brushing Arcee's face. She slapped it away.

“I don't want your forgiveness,” she spat. “Or you. You're just a nuisance, and I'm done with you.”

Starscream's wings twitched at her stinging words actively resisting lowering them further. He refused to look weak a second time and instead went for the offensive. “Did you discard other lovers this easily when you were finished? Was it some hobby for you?”

Arcee almost winced at the harshness of his tone, his intent to hurt her. “Why do you even care when we shouldn't even be here in the first place?” Arcee paused to gather herself properly. “You're not even a lover, you're just-”

“It would certainly explain your constant desire to interface with me, since, if you remember-”

Arcee immediately bristled. “Don't-”

“I _killed_ -”

Before he could even get the name out, Arcee had delivered a swift, hard punch across his face, effectively silencing him. Starscream held his face, almost surprised she would got that far, let alone continue.

“Don't ever-” Arcee started, giving him another solid hit to his other cheek. “Say his name-” A knee to his midsection, fracturing the glass of his torso. “Ever again!”

As Arcee brought her knee up to strike his face, Starscream used both arms to protect it. The moment of hesitation was all Starscream needed to turn the tide. Using his own leg, he swept Arcee from her stance, making her fall hard on her back. Starscream was quick to follow up, throwing his weight on her but only getting one good punch in across her cheek before Arcee got her knee between them, using all her strength to kick him off. Before he could get back on his heels, Arcee was on him again with a furious shout. His servo shot out and latched onto her face while both of her own gripped his throat. The force of her hold was enough to make Starscream release her, instead attempting to wretch her servos from the vulnerable area.

“Never-” Arcee repeated, but went no further. Her arms were trembling both with the fierce literal choke hold. Coolant stung her optics. “Why do you have to ruin EVERYTHING?!”

Starscream couldn't answer with the air being wrought from his intake barely even able to gasp under her force. He frantically moved her servos to hers, using both thumbs to pry smaller ones off. Arcee barely seemed to notice as the hold was gradually broken, he only kept her unstable glare on his face. Finally, Starscream pried her off, instead allowing her to instead pin his hands to either side of his helm as he frantically gasped cool air into his frame. Arcee continued to put her full weight on him.

“I hate you...” Arcee whispered.

“Then why-” Starscream wheezed, subconsciously squeezing her servos in his own, “Are you still h-here?”

Arcee shook her helm, finally breaking optic-contact, wiping her cheeks on her shoulder. Her face remained stained with coolant, however. “I don't...”

“There must be a reason.” Starscream waited for an answer so he could take time to get more air into his vents. When she didn't answer or even look at him, Starscream took the initiative, “To alleviate boredom? Have a chance to abuse me? Or perhaps you only wanted to get your spike wet?”

A sharp slap echoed around the cave wall. Arcee's hand moved before she could process it; she only realized the aftermath with her servo still in position and Starscream's helm turned to the side. But his hazy optics still saw her.

“I don't do that,” Arcee growled, replacing the servo on his wrist.

“But you did. That's what we _both_ did,” Starscream responded firmly. “And that's why we're here now.”

Arcee shook her helm again. She let go of Starscream's extremities, sitting back on his panel and allowing him to sit up. “But things changed.”

Starscream reclined himself on his elbows shakily, still the slightest bit dizzy from Arcee's assault. “What, exactly?”

“Megatron abusing you, for one,” Arcee forced out, only eyeing Starscream from the side. There was a trickle of blood from his lips that she resisted wiping away. “I knew your loyalty to him was always questionable, but I guess I never thought he'd...”

“What? Dole out his punishments in the most physical ways possible?” Starscream asked, though it was hardly a question to him. “He's a tyrant, Arcee. He rules us as he would any common mech.”

“I know,” she whispered, almost hanging her helm. “Trying to starve you, though? You're his second-in-command.”

“Why should that make a difference?” Starscream asked, genuinely curious of her answer, but didn't give her the chance to. “If anything, I receive harsher punishment, short of termination.”

Arcee considered how little sense that made, but it wasn't the most surprising bit of logic when it came to a mech like Megatron. Without much thought about her next actions, what she could even do with the information freely given to her. Her servos found themselves on Starscream's chest, absent-mindedly tracing the planes and edges, concentrating on the edges of the Decepticon sigil in the center as if she was debating scraping it from where it was mounted. Starscream tiredly watched her, figuring she must have been as exhausted as he was. He wasn't going to complain about the downtime.

“You know I just wanted to help you, right?” Arcee asked.

“For what reason?”

“I can't just want to?”

“But _why_ do you?” Starscream pushed, straining slightly as he sat up fully. Arcee remained in place. “Not out of the goodness of your spark, certainly. Not when you detest me so, when I was-”

Arcee clamped her servos over his mouth to keep him from speaking further, lest she be set off by his deliberately scathing words. “I don't hate you. But, I do. I don't know anymore. Maybe all these secret meetings changed that. It was exciting, even fun. Then seeing how you're treated by your own kind...” Arcee let go of Starscream's face. He let out a huff as he was released. Arcee looked down to her hand, seeing his blood smeared on it.

“You can't save me, Arcee,” he said, finally wiping the remainder of the fluorescent fluid from his face.

“You can at least let me help.”

“You've done enough for me, far past my actual need for it,” Starscream said. He meant to sound more confident in his words, but somewhere along the line, he wavered. “And beyond the interfacing.”

Arcee quashed her smirk she so wanted to show him so that she at least seemed less upset. But truly, it would change nothing. Her servos found Starscream's shoulders instead, resting on them while she considered her next words carefully. She wanted to continue talking as long as possible, to draw out their time together while they had it. Instead, she remained silent, seemingly unsure of herself. She didn't debate it further; Arcee pressed her helm to Starscream's own, similar crest. She didn't know if it was supposed to be a sign of respect, affection, or otherwise, and just let it be, let the seeker take it as he would. Her spark might have swelled as Starscream pressed back against her.

“We should stop,” Starscream murmured, the words all too familiar on his lips.

“We should,” Arcee repeated, keeping her optics offline and her crest almost magnetized to his. And just like the first time they exchanged those words, she didn't want to stop. Truly, it would have been better to stay in the pleasant, mutual company of her alleged enemy than the family she'd come to know but may not have known her as well. Not in quite the same way, she thought.

This time, neither one broke the intimate contact, the important moment they shared. This time, it was Arcee who voluntarily clung to him, keeping both arms about his helm as if to keep him trapped there, but Starscream dropped his servos to Arcee's hips, pulling her close to his frame. Ripples of pain were rampant among their frames, but they ignored their aches in exchange for the warmth they received from each other. This truly might have been the last time they would spend together in comforting yet spark-wrenching bliss, but neither would disturb the moment.

For now, Arcee and Starscream had each other in ways they never thought possible, and for the time being, they let it be. They were incompatible, but they could coexist. The war kept them apart, but their sparks would keep them together.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had more planned for this fic, but I'm afraid I'm burned out on it. I still wanted to end it as naturally as I could, and it may eventually get a second part but for now, this is the final chapter. I hope you enjoyed this melancholy drama and join me for the next adventure.
> 
> (also find my drawing stuff here: https://boltedbee.deviantart.com/)

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and crits welcome.


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